Most crustaceans are free-living aquatic animals, but some are terrestrial (e.g. woodlice, sandhoppers), some are parasitic (e.g. Rhizocephala, fish lice, tongue worms) and some are sessile (e.g. barnacles). The group has an extensive fossil record, reaching back to the Cambrian. More than 7.9 million tons of crustaceans per year are harvested by fishery or farming for human consumption, consisting mostly of shrimp and prawns. Krill and copepods are not as widely fished, but may be the animals with the greatest biomass on the planet, and form a vital part of the food chain. The scientific study of crustaceans is known as carcinology (alternatively, malacostracology, crustaceology or crustalogy), and a scientist who works in carcinology is a carcinologist.

The body of a crustacean is composed of segments, which are grouped into three regions: the cephalon or head, the pereon or thorax, and the pleon or abdomen. The head and thorax may be fused together to form a cephalothorax, which may be covered by a single large carapace. The crustacean body is protected by the hard exoskeleton, which must be moulted for the animal to grow. The shell around each somite can be divided into a dorsal tergum, ventral sternum and a lateral pleuron. Various parts of the exoskeleton may be fused together.

The name "crustacean" dates from the earliest works to describe the animals, including those of Pierre Belon and Guillaume Rondelet, but the name was not used by some later authors, including Carl Linnaeus, who included crustaceans among the "Aptera" in his Systema Naturae. The earliest nomenclatural valid work to use the name "Crustacea" was Morten Thrane Brünnich's Zoologiæ Fundamenta in 1772, although he also included chelicerates in the group.

The traditional classification of Crustacea based on morphology recognised four to six classes. Bowman and Abele (1982) recognised 652 extant families and 38 orders, organised into six classes: Branchiopoda, Remipedia, Cephalocarida, Maxillopoda, Ostracoda, and Malacostraca. Martin and Davis (2001) updated this classification, retaining the six classes but including 849 extant families in 42 orders. Despite outlining the evidence that Maxillopoda was non-monophyletic, they retained it as one of the six classes, although did suggest that Maxillipoda could be replaced by elevating its subclasses to classes. Since then phylogenetic studies have confirmed the polyphyly of Maxillopoda and the paraphyletic nature of Crustacea with respect to Hexapoda. Recent classifications recognise ten to twelve classes in Crustacea or Pancrustacea, with several former maxillopod subclasses now recognised as classes (e.g. Thecostraca, Tantulocarida, Mystacocarida, Copepoda, Branchiura and Pentastomida).

Many crustaceans are consumed by humans, and nearly 10,700,000 tons were harvested in 2007; the vast majority of this output is of decapod crustaceans: crabs, lobsters, shrimp, crayfish, langoustine and prawns. Over 60% by weight of all crustaceans caught for consumption are shrimp and prawns, and nearly 80% is produced in Asia, with China alone producing nearly half the world's total. Non-decapod crustaceans are not widely consumed, with only 118,000 tons of krill being caught, despite krill having one of the greatest biomasses on the planet. Krill are, however, a speciality in China and Japan and are used pickled in Korea. They are also consumed in Artic regions and are being introduced to new consumers as fusion recipes using frozen and tinned krill. Gooseneck barnacles (Pollicipes pollicipes) are a speciality of Spanish cuisine (recipes including krill and gooseneck barnacles can be found in the links below). The Pacific goose barnacle, Pollicipes elegans is also consumed, particularly in Alaska. The Japanese goose barnacle, Capitulum mitella is eaten in Japan. The Chilean giant barnacle or picoroco (Austromegabalanus psittacus) is routinely fished for food. Woodlice are sometimes consumed by foragers. Dried prawns (locally known as crawfish) are used as a flavouring and thickener in West African stews.

The alphabetical list of all the Crustacean-based recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 671 recipes in total:

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Curry Trey Ruah (Curried Snapper)      Origin: Cambodia	Fāfaru (Fermented Coconut Sauce)      Origin: Wallis Futuna	Garden Eggs Stew      Origin: Ghana
Cyw Iâr â Bwyd Môr (Chicken with Seafood)      Origin: Welsh	Fāfaru (Fermented Coconut Sauce)      Origin: Austral Islands	Gari aux Crevettes (Gari with Prawns)      Origin: Cameroon
Dadar Jagung (Prawn and Corn Fritters)      Origin: Indonesia	Fermented Krill/Shrimp Paste      Origin: Japan	Gari Foto      Origin: Ghana
Daging Bumbu Bali      Origin: Indonesia	Feuilles de Manioc Malienne (Malian Cassava Leaf Stew)      Origin: Mali	Gbékui (Spinach Sauce)      Origin: Togo
Deep Fried Coconut King Prawns      Origin: Britain	Fijian Crab Curry      Origin: Fiji	Gbegiri (Bean Stew)      Origin: Nigeria
Demok (Taro Leaves in Coconut Milk)      Origin: Palau	Filé Gumbo      Origin: Louisiana	Gelée du Pomme au Calvados (Crab Apple and Calvados Jelly)      Origin: France
Dewberry Jelly      Origin: Britain	Filipino Fish Curry      Origin: Philippines	Ginger Prawns with Oyster Mushrooms      Origin: China
Djerba-style Grilled Prawns      Origin: Tunisia	FionFion      Origin: Togo	Goan Crab Claw Curry      Origin: India
Dominica Crab Backs      Origin: Dominica	Fish Creole      Origin: Louisiana	Goat Meat Pepper Soup with Calabash Nutmeg      Origin: Nigeria
Dominica Crab Callaloo      Origin: Dominica	Fish Kebabs      Origin: Britain	Gratin de fruits de mer (Seafood Gratin)      Origin: Monaco
Dominica Curry Prawns      Origin: Dominica	Fish Pie with Dulse      Origin: Scotland	Gratin de galettes aux crevettes (Gratin of Pancakes with Prawns and Mushrooms)      Origin: France
Dongo (Fish with Cassava Leaves)      Origin: Congo	Fish Sausages      Origin: Scotland	Grilled Coconut Crab      Origin: Federated States Micronesia
Dressed Crab      Origin: Canada	Fisk och paprikasoppa (Fish and Bell Pepper Soup)      Origin: Sweden	Grilled Coconut Crab      Origin: Tuvalu
Dublin Lawyer      Origin: Scotland	Flancitos      Origin: Chile	Guyanese Crab Callaloo      Origin: Guyana
Dulse-dressed Prawns      Origin: Ireland	Folon      Origin: Cameroon	Haiken (Chicken and Prawn Egg Rolls)      Origin: Mauritius
East African Prawn Curry      Origin: East Africa	Fonio, Sauce Gombo et Crevettes (Fonio, Okra Sauce and Prawns)      Origin: Mali	Hami (Fermented Coconut Sauce)      Origin: Tonga
East African Shrimp Curry      Origin: East Africa	Foufou de Banane à la Sauce Claire (Plantain Fufu with Clear Sauce)      Origin: Mali	Herb and Garlic Prawns      Origin: Britain
Ecrevisses au Curry (Crayfish Curry)      Origin: Cote dIvoire	French Coconut Fish Curry      Origin: France	Honey-glazed Prawns      Origin: Roman
Edikang Ikong Soup      Origin: Nigeria	Fricassé de ouassous (Fricassée of Freshwater Prawns)      Origin: Guadeloupe	Hong Kong Curry Fish Balls      Origin: Hong Kong
Editan Soup II      Origin: Nigeria	Fried Ata Sauce      Origin: Nigeria	Iced Cucumber, Prawn and Yoghurt Soup      Origin: Britain
Efere Usung Udia      Origin: Nigeria	Fried Brinjal Sambal      Origin: Myanmar	Ikan Assam Pedas (Hot-and-sour Fish Stew)      Origin: Malaysia
Efo Riro      Origin: Nigeria	Fried Crabmeat Flautas      Origin: American	Ila Alasepo (Okra and Spinach Soup)      Origin: Nigeria
Efo-riro (Vegetable Stew)      Origin: Nigeria	Fried Kway Teow      Origin: Malaysia	In Locusta Elixa (Sauce for Boiled Lobster)      Origin: Roman
Egg and Prawns on Toast      Origin: South Africa	Fried Kway Teow      Origin: Christmas Island	Inarizushi (Inari Sushi)      Origin: Japan
Egusi Soup      Origin: Nigeria	Fried Kway Teow      Origin: Cocos Islands	Indonesian Peanut Sauce      Origin: Indonesia
Ekoki      Origin: Cameroon	Fu Yung Hai (Eggs Fu Yung)      Origin: China	Isicia de Cauda Eius sic Facies (Make Lobster Tail Forcemeat Balls Thus)      Origin: Roman
Ekpang Nkukwo      Origin: Nigeria	Fukusazushi      Origin: Japan	Isicia de scillis (Prawn Rissole)      Origin: Roman
Ekpang Nkukwo (Cocoyam Pottage)      Origin: Nigeria	Gaeng Pa (Jungle Curry Paste)      Origin: Thailand	Isicia Marina (Seafood Patties)      Origin: Roman
Ekuru with Ata Sauce (Steamed Savoury Beans with Ata Sauce)      Origin: Nigeria	Gaeng Som (Thai Sour Curry)      Origin: Thailand	Isso Vade      Origin: Sri Lanka
Empanadas fritas de mariscos (Fried Seafood Empanadas)      Origin: Easter Island	Gaeng Som (Thai Sour Curry)      Origin: Thailand	Iwuk Efere      Origin: Nigeria
Eog Gyda Saws Corgimychiaid (Salmon with Prawn Sauce)      Origin: Welsh	Gaeng Som (Thai Sour Orange Curry)      Origin: Thailand	Jamaican Jerk Shirmp      Origin: Jamaica
Eru avec Garri (Eru with Garri)      Origin: Cameroon	Galician-style Goose Barnacles      Origin: Spain	Jamaican Prawn Curry      Origin: Jamaica
Ewa Dodo (Black-eyed peas with Plantains)      Origin: Niger	Gambas ou langoustines au pastis (Prawns or Langoustines with Pastis)      Origin: Monaco
Fāfaru (Fermented Coconut Sauce)      Origin: Tahiti	Gambian-style Okro Soup      Origin: Gambia

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